Whitney Houston FBI Report Details Extortion Scheme

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released a 128-page report into the life of singer Whitney Houston.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the report was part of an FBI extortion case that was closed before any charges were filed. The document shows that Houston was blackmailed in 1992, with a letter from a woman stating that details of her private life would be revealed if $100,000, and later $250,000 were not paid.

Houston had told the FBI that the woman was "a friend." Houston's father, John Houston, later sent the woman a "confidentiality agreement" and paid her an amount of money which was redacted in the FBI document.

The document also contains letters from adoring fans, some of which were of interest to the FBI because the agency was afraid certain fans might hurt someone because of their obsession. FBI agents were compelled to interview several of these obsessive fans, once going as far as Brussels, Belgium. In the cases detailed, these fans were determined to not have broken the law and did not appear to have actual plans for hurting anyone or extorting Houston.

Houston died just over one year ago, on February 11, 2012. She was found unconscious in a bathtub in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The cause of death was later determined to be an accidental drowning related to heavy drug use.